How many times have you been ready to file that brief, only to learn that it is a page too long?

Of course, you first read through the brief to see if there is anything that is truly redundant and should be deleted. Then you resort to the tricks. I first look for paragraphs that end with just a word or two on the last line; if I can delete just a word or two from the paragraph, I can get rid of an entire line. Then I resort to removing the word "the" whenever possible, creating shorter defined terms, more short cites for cases, and moving text to footnote. Deanna Carper-Lilly at the Writing Corner has put together a comprehensive list of ways to "tighten up that manuscript." Deanna's context is general writing but certainly provides helpful tips for legal writers. She refers to the process as washing the dirty laundry and even "hums the old song 'I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair' for the movie South Pacific" while she does the editing. That's a trick I have not tried.

Thanks to Legal Writing Prof Blog for this link.